Ron Artest Investigation? Sister Could Face Fraud Charges

TheIndyChannel.com reports that Lakers forward Ron Artest is caught up in a welfare fraud investigation. According to the report, police raided the home of Latoya Holmes-Ivey, who claims no income and receives rent assistance from the government. However, Holmes-Ivey is Artest's sister, and authorities suspect she may have received financial assistance from her brother.

According to the Indianapolis Star, the executive director of the Indianapolis Housing Agency says Artest has not been accused of wrongdoing:

"As far as we are concerned, (Artest) is just a guy helping out his family," he said. "But it is his sister's responsibility to report it and try to recover some money if that's the case."

Even if no accusations have been made, a string of Thanksgiving-day tweets from Artest suggest that police have investigated his property, although perhaps on an unrelated matter:

Developing...

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Comments

[kells1001]

12:14 AM on 11/30/2009

I feel sympathy for Ron Artest's sister, but certainly Ron Artest has proven much of what is wrong with a capitalist­ic system driven only by greed. Ron Artest is still playing for the NBA champion Lakers while his guilt is ever evident in his own postings for the way he irresponsi­bly caused the Pacers Team and Franchise problems for years to come. He has been treated with kitten gloves while parading around claiming abuse from all kinds of situations which most people would certainly avoid if they were as highly paid as he is. His conduct speaks for itself and California­ns should remember they are all getting just what Ron Artest is all about. I really believe his sister in that he probably hasn't given her a dime, while making over 5 mil a year for many years.

[HoosierRadical]

03:26 PM on 11/28/2009

This is total BS, the Indianapol­is Housing Agency is run by a bunch of incompeten­t fools. Many people help out their less fortunate relatives by paying their rent etc.

The rules are stupid, why should she report something that is not steady income. This is how the system works, poor people have to divulge any and everything to get a crumb or assistance­, while the rich and powerful get billions no questions asked.

[iamstymie]

11:16 AM on 11/28/2009

Dog neglector!

[ebanks84]

10:33 AM on 11/28/2009

I don't even know who this man is or his personal problems. We all have problems. I certainly don't want mind splattered on HP that's for sure.

[qdog112]

10:23 AM on 11/28/2009

Ron is right. The state had evidence that could have waited until after Thanksgivi­ng. There was no risk of flight. It was a sinister effort to degrade and humiliate a family on a day most of us hold dear.

Huff Po is WRONG for suggesting Artest is being investigat­ed. It is S TABLOID.

[Imasqre]

09:22 AM on 11/29/2009

I totally agree. There was absolutely no reason for this situation to be investigat­ed on Thanksgivi­ng day. To interrupt and essentiall­y ruin a family's holiday is uncalled for, especially when it seems it certainly could have waited till the next day.

The amount of misleading headlines on HP is getting annoying, that's for sure. Hopefully that will change and it will be realized that sensationa­listic headlines are not necessary if the true goal is to report news.

[pretzel logic47]

07:56 AM on 11/28/2009

I bought the Ron Artest Fight Cup on ebay, and all I got was a lousy cup!

[TimWest]

05:10 AM on 11/28/2009

"Ron Artest Investigat­ion? Sister Could Face Fraud Charges" ---

Totally misleading title. With this kind of heading, HP is in no position to criticize Faux News.

[time4change2009]

12:46 AM on 11/28/2009

Wish they were this concerned about what is done with the TARP/bailo­ut money.

[adrian nyu]

11:39 PM on 11/27/2009

I think the "sign" means Peace??

[IMMA WAKE]

11:10 PM on 11/27/2009

C heap T rick
H uff P uff

[Palemoon]

10:05 PM on 11/27/2009

So what gang sign is that which Mr. Artest is flashing?

[ebanks84]

10:18 AM on 11/28/2009

My goodness, how quickly we forget. It's the "peace" sign.

[qdog112]

10:26 AM on 11/28/2009

It's much easier and salacious to link Mr. Artest wit a gang. BTW, some of us never heard of a peace sign. SHAMEFUL.

Reminds me of "the terrorist fist bump."

[WCwill]

09:32 PM on 11/27/2009

For those of you who are so angry at the headline and story, pay attention to what the Huffington Post is. Below the HP header it reads, "The Internet Newspaper.­" And there are all kinds of different topics of which to choose. It's not as if HP just started reporting these stories. This has been going on for quite some time. With Artest's background­, these kinds of stories will always show up and not just on HP.

[ebanks84]

10:31 AM on 11/28/2009

But NEWS and SALACIOUSN­ESS are two different things. This is NOT news. The world is NOT interested in what this man is doing and whatever the story is does not affect us or change our lives. News should be something that we ALL NEED TO KNOW! Did you need to know this?

[sasson]

07:00 PM on 11/27/2009

The headlines on this site are becoming out of control. It is getting as bad as Fox news.

[ebanks84]

10:19 AM on 11/28/2009

Maybe they hired a "rightwing­er" to do headlines or something :) - just kidding!

[skippy20008]

05:19 PM on 11/27/2009

I'm no fan of Artest, but this is on his sister, not him.

[260Parkway]

04:47 PM on 11/27/2009

Nothing about athletes surprise me anymore. Did anyone see the piece on the Fox pregame show where these million dollar athletes are trying to get a "free" turkey and fussing because they thought they weren't going to be able to get one. It was a prank but still..... Greed knows no boundaries­!!!

[Yuseff Hilton]

09:01 AM on 11/28/2009

LOL

"It was a prank, but still"

Get over it, Rush; you got PUNKED by that fake Obama Thesis.

[ebanks84]

10:20 AM on 11/28/2009

Especially among the rich. Greed to the poor is "survival"­.